..A distinguished Planning Committee set the agenda, reviewed more than 70 abstracts, and invited almost 30 speakers; the program emphasized issues of clinical heterogeneity and longitudinal outcomes, including patient-reported measures...

..Interest in the philosophy and techniques of the assessment of health outcomes has burgeoned, prompting research funding agencies and others to examine traditional and emerging methods for outcome measurement...

Outcomes and costs of community health worker interventions: a systematic review

..We conducted a systematic review on outcomes and costs of community health worker (CHW) interventions. CHWs are increasingly expected to improve health outcomes cost-effectively for the underserved...

..Recently, Shekelle and colleagues proposed a model of limited literature searches with modest expert involvement as a way to reduce the cost and time requirements for assessing whether a guideline needs updating...

Screening and interventions for obesity in adults: summary of the evidence for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force

..Clinicians have to be aware of the lack of evidence supporting a long-term net benefit when considering biologics for patients with JIA...

Antibiotic therapy for the treatment of preterm labor: a review of the evidence

John M ThorpDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill 27599 7570, USAAm J Obstet Gynecol 186:587-92. 2002

..The purpose of this study was to evaluate the evidence regarding antibiotics for the treatment of preterm labor...

Efficacy and tolerability of second-generation antidepressants in social anxiety disorder

Richard A HansenDivision of Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy, School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USAInt Clin Psychopharmacol 23:170-9. 2008

..Overall, a fair amount of evidence supports the efficacy of escitalopram, fluvoxamine, paroxetine, sertraline, and venlafaxine in social anxiety disorder. The drugs do not differ in efficacy, although their adverse event profiles do...

Chemoprevention of breast cancer: a summary of the evidence for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force

..Chemoprevention offers promise as a strategy for reducing morbidity and mortality from breast cancer in women. This review examined the evidence for the effectiveness of chemoprevention in women without a history of breast cancer...

The efficacy of behavioral interventions to modify dietary fat and fruit and vegetable intake: a review of the evidence

Alice S AmmermanDepartment of Nutrition, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599 7400, USAPrev Med 35:25-41. 2002

..A secondary goal was to explore the relative effectiveness of specific intervention features and among different population subgroups...

Screening for depression in adults: a summary of the evidence for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force

..Up to 3% of all children in their first year of life are hospitalized with bronchiolitis. Bronchodilators and corticosteroids are commonly used treatments, but little consensus exists about optimal management strategies...

Screening adults for type 2 diabetes: a review of the evidence for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force

..Suicide is the 11th leading cause of death and the seventh leading cause of years of potential life lost in the United States. Although suicide is of great public health significance, its clinical management is complicated...

Counseling to promote a healthy diet in adults: a summary of the evidence for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force

Michael P PignoneDivision of General Internal Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, USAAm J Prev Med 24:75-92. 2003

..The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of counseling to promote a healthy diet among patients in primary care settings...

Discontinuation rates for selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and other second-generation antidepressants in outpatients with major depressive disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis

..To determine whether a positive financial return on investment for quality-enhancing interventions is more likely for particular health conditions, in specific organizational settings, or with the use of particular interventions...

Interventions to improve health outcomes for patients with low literacy. A systematic review

..In U.S. men, prostate cancer is the most common noncutaneous cancer and the second leading cause of cancer death. Screening for prostate cancer is controversial...

The comparative efficacy and safety of biologics for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis: a systematic review and metaanalysis

Gerald GartlehnerCecil G Sheps Center for Health Services, and School of Public Health, Health Policy and Administration, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, USAJ Rheumatol 33:2398-408. 2006

..In addition, dosing regimens and routes of administration differ substantially among biologics. In a systematic review, we assessed the comparative efficacy and safety of biologic agents for RA...